Important changes to ordering/paying for school dinners

We are pleased to announce that from Friday the 3rd of February, all parents will be able to utilise Parentmail to choose dinner menu options and pay dinner money online using the Parentmail +Pay facility.

Pupils in Foundation, Classes 1 and 2 will continue to receive a Free School Meal and therefore parents will only need to complete the online dinner menu form, as will parents of Key Stage 2 pupils who also qualify for a Free School Meals.

The final paper based menu that parents complete on a weekly basis will be issued on Tuesday 31st January for school dinners on w/c Monday 6th February. On the 3rd February the school will email/SMS via Parentmail the menu as a form for you to complete and return electronically for dinner’s w/c Monday 20th February. Menus will now be sent this way every Friday thereafter, for return by the following Tuesday so that the kitchen can order the appropriate ingredients. Reminders will be sent, but if forms are not returned on time the packed lunch option will be automatically allocated.

From the 3rd February, +Pay will become the method for parents/carers to pay for school dinners. In time, we shall also roll out this facility for our breakfast club, school trips and visits.+Pay is easy to use, making it simple for parents to top-up dinner money and for the school to manage and track transactions, with a wide range of payment options including credit/debit cards, Pay Point, Pay Cash and PayPal.

The system is personalised to you and you have your own login and account details. It gives you the flexibility to make online payments whenever and wherever you like, safe in the knowledge that the technology used is of the highest internet security standard. You will be able to see Payments as an option in your parent feed on either your computer or through the ParentMail App.

When you receive a notification, it means we have invited you to pay, initially for school dinners. To top up your child’s dinner money balance, you will then need to log-in to your ParentMail account and select ‘Payments’, then ‘Shop’. Once you have selected the top-up recipient, you can type in an amount to top up, with a minimum payment of £2.20 currently set for card payments.

If for any reason you have not received an invite to register with Parentmail or your contact details have changed, please contact the school office. If you are registered and have not downloaded the mobile phone app click on this link http://www.stpiusxchelmsford.co.uk/parentmail/ which will take you to the schools website where further details about downloading the App can be found.

If you should have any queries about these new arrangements, please feel free to contact the school office. We will be happy to discuss any concerns that you may have.